


And then he had to bolt.

by SkyWarrior66



Category: Naruto
Genre: Fox spirits!, Foxes rule, Gen, He blames Naruto, Konoha loses their shit, Konoha's A+ parenting, Kurama has a soft squishy center, Kurama is not impressed, Magic Mountains, Runaway Naruto, Sarutobi is an idiot, Their jinchuuriki as well., This is what happens when you abuse children, blackkat, humans drool, spirit adoption, sprxx77
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-01-30 12:47:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12653805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyWarrior66/pseuds/SkyWarrior66
Summary: Because if gaki-Naruto happens to meet Kurama in his head, you know he would immediately try to make friends. He's never met a fox spirit before after all. Kurama may or may not encourage him to go meet the other fox spirits.Obviously Konoha loses their shit.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blackkat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/gifts), [sprx77](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sprx77/gifts).



> Title taken from Robert Frost's The Runaway poem. It's about a horse, but it applies.  
> This is a combination of faults/inspiration from Blackkat's 'Reverse' and Sprxx77's 'We like things related to our survival'. Go read both. Both are great. Reverse is amazing.

He's only 4 when he's knocked unconscious the first time. He wakes in a smelly sewer and immediately wrinkles his post toddler nose at the smell and the gray water. _Gray water_. Naruto shudders despite himself, though he's not cold. Standing up in the placid water is quickly accomplished, with the help of the large rusted pipes nearby. Curious and wet, the boy wanders throughout the strange place, making innumerable turns in the narrow halls. It's not too long before he finds himself in a large room, taller than he can see the ceiling of, the black swallowing any source of light above him. Bars decorate the other side of the room making the largest cage Naruto has ever seen (not that he's seen that many, living separate from Konoha proper in the orphanage, after all.). 

Cornflower blue eyes widen in surprise and fear when a snarl rips through the air and large yellow eyes come through the darkness behind the bars to stare at him. 

"What the hell? Why are you here?"

The boy only blinks several times before he grins, impossibly wide and cheerful. "Hi! I'm Naruto! And I don't know where I am. Is this where you live? I live at the orphanage! Is your home behind the gates? Who are you? Want to be my friend?" 

The Kyuubi, most feared and powerful of his siblings, a creature of malice and fire and rage-is rather stumped. Fuck. "How did you get here, kid? You shouldn't have even started your shinobi training at this age. How old are you?" 

The spawn of Kushina merely laughs and walks towards him, not put off at all by the bars, wading through the thigh high water on the boy. "I can't go to shinobi school 'til I'm six. I don't know how I got here. There was this man and then it hurt and then I woke up here."

He walks right through the bars, doesn't even react at the sight of giant fox other than to grin wider and giggle with glee and curiosity. "What did you say your name was again, brat?"

"Naruto, what's yours?" 

"Kurama"

"Want to be my friend?" Small hands reach towards him and grasp his fur gently in their fragile grip. He barely remembers to growl back that yes, he would like to be his jailor's friend. The look of relief and wonder makes something shift inside his chest uncomfortably. He may have been a spirit, a demon of malice growing ever stronger along with humanity's corruption and hate, but even he wasn't as evil as those idiotic humans on the outside clearly were. His mind squawks with rage and affront at the child using him as a jungle gym, but he can't bring himself to destroy the child as he should, growling ineffectively with his bluster. Questions pepper his ears and he answers best he can, wondering what the hell that wizened poor excuse of a shinobi leader was thinking, to abandon this child to the mercy of uncaring caretakers. 

"What are you?"

"A fox spirit."

"Cool, I've never met one before. Are there many?" 

"Not in Konoha, its too crowded, but on Mt. Inari, yes." 

"Would they be my friends too?"

"Kid, with me as your friend they would adore you."

The wistfulness, disbelief and hope in his eyes make Kurama want to scream, to blast apart the seal holding him in and rip apart Konoha for putting that look on any child's face. Children didn't hold malice. Nor corruption or hate. They are pure and pleasing in comparison to their adult counterparts. He couldn't punish the humans as they deserved from where he was. But he could do something else.

"Hey Kid, want to learn a shinobi trick?"

The child's-no, Naruto's resulting cheer of happiness and enthusiasm makes Kurama flatten his ears, but something warm and sure and _determined_ settles into his chest.  
\---

Months later, a manhunt is on to find the missing container of the Kyuubi. The civilians are terrified of a repeat attack of the Kyuubi, while the ninja silently prepare for war if they find out the container was kidnapped by a rival village. Trackers are sent out along with ANBU teams, Kakashi in lead amongst them, searching for weeks, then months. 

They never find Mt. Inari, hidden as it is from human eyes. The fox spirits there had found Naruto climbing the mountain, trying to find them as 'Kurama-nii' said they were cool and would be great friends to have. The younger fox spirits, only of two or three tails, squeal and coo and play happily while the elders train and protect and _love_ the child. Child, a human he may be, but he carries their god within him and nothing made them more pleased than to care for Naruto.

And if, occasionally, ramen and udon noodles of incredible quantities are stolen or tricked out of nearby villages and merchants, then Kurama calls it just deserts for the humans being so terrible to his container, his friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because foxes are excellent nursemaids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently my recent child care experience is kicking in. Damn. Not sure if this will be fluffy or funny yet.

This was clearly either the best idea, or worst (but he doesn't really have those-attacking Konoha the first time non withstanding) idea Kurama has ever had. 

Considering the fact that Naruto is currently playing hide and seek with Minoru, Takao (who is anything but his namesake) and Reiji at this very moment and seemingly adoring every breathtaking second of it. Not seemingly, Kurama acknowledged from behind the bars to the prison that the damned fourth Hokage stuck him in. The gaki was adoring it. Ever since they had found Mt. Inari, Naruto's emotions (and thus part of Kurama's landscape in Naruto's mind) have been bright and bubbly and safe. 

They had been here for several years now, and despite Kurama's wishes that the kid would grow up and stop playing childish games and train more. The kid trained a lot, but more time could only help. Then again, Kurama sighed and then snorted at the memories filtering in on Momo jumping on Minoru, ruining her hiding spot-perhaps giving the kid as much as childhood as he could (considering what it had been like in Konoha-damn, tree shaggers) wasn't so bad. 

It's not like the kid didn't trust him enough to let him take over and protect them both when need be after all. Naruto was great at following directions once you gave him proper motivation.

He huffed when Naruto got pinned by two of the young 2 tailed foxes, but kept his grumbles to himself. The kid had more time to train, and on Mt. Inari, he was safe to do so at the pace that he and the other foxes had designed for him. From their frequent forays into the human settlements, and from Naruto's past in Konoha outrunning people and playing pranks, he was already a stealth master. Evading more than one set of ANBU with only some guidance from Kurama or one of the other foxes assured him of that title. While it was sometimes difficult to deal with the gaki's immaturity and desire for flashy techniques (which they would get to-eventually), they had impressed upon the young jinchuriki the importance of survival and stealth and its true role in being a competent shinobi. 

Not to mention being a competent fox. 

That shut the kid up and motivated him sufficiently since that day. 

Naruto interrupted his musings, the pre-adolescent appearing in his mindscape suddenly to duck in between the bars and scratch at Kurama's right ear before disappearing, leaving behind the scent of grass, sun and wildflowers. 

The thoughtfulness of that kid, sometimes. 

The utter sap, Kurama mentally corrected as the gaki continued his playing in the outside world. 

His siblings would never let him hear the end of it if they found out what the blonde gaki had done to Kurama's reputation. He ignored the peal of laughter and buried his face in his paws. He really hoped that Naruto never met any of the other human containers. 

It just wouldn't end well.

**Author's Note:**

> Hmmm, this had more awesome-ness in my head. the dialogue sounds weird. But i don't interact with kids, so I'm useless with that.


End file.
